Nearly every day I skim through emails which have e-book deals listed. One day a few weeks ago, The Pepper in the Gumbo was listed for free. The blurb attached to it said how fans of You’ve Got Mail would like this story. I can’t remember the exact wording, but it sounded a lot like the plot of the movie. I didn’t really like the movie, but part of me wondered just how alike the movie and this book would be, so I downloaded it. As I read, I was quite astonished - the book seemed like an updated version of the movie. Alice was a local bookstore owner who hated technology, and Paul owned a large electronic/gaming company that was about to open a store near Alice’s. Of course, they met each other, didn’t exactly hit it off, and of course Alice was none too happy with Paul’s new store being opened. The two also talk online - and you guessed it - Alice doesn’t know she’s talking to Paul, but Paul knows he’s talking to Alice. They set up a meeting, and Paul plans on telling Alice he’s the guy from online, but Alice doesn’t get it. So, on with the drama. What made me chuckle was that at some point, Tom Hanks is referred to, and at another point the characters even joke about how much this situation is like You’ve Got Mail. Near plagiarism aside, this book wasn’t the most enjoyable read. I found myself having to force myself to read it in its entirety. It was filled with extraneous details that made it seem more like reading diary entries than meaningful plot points. While it makes sense that the characters bonded over works they’ve read, they were referenced and quoted too much - it made reading the book tedious. Then of course, there were tropes present. For instance, Alice had a boyfriend at the beginning of the book, who was of course, one of the most unpleasant characters and really served no purpose other than to create tension with the main characters’ relationship. Also, later in the book, when Alice finally realizes Paul is the man she’s been talking to online, and has also done many wonderfully kind acts for her, Alice assumes he has terrible motives.. It’s the typical scenario you see in romance movies - someone is hiding something and twenty minutes before the end of the movie the other finds out and their relationship is threatened. Like in too many of those movies, the fact that the one who discovers the secret is hurt and offended is just ridiculous. Don’t worry though, they get back together. Anyway, point is, you might as well just watch You’ve Got Mail. It’s a slightly less tedious telling of the same story.